Essentially the movie Logan is Children of Men with superheroes. Luckily, Children of Men is one of my favourite movies, and Logan I liked a lot as well.
The year is 2029 and mutants are on the verge of extinction due to deterioration of the mutant gene. Logan (Hugh Jackman) is working as a limousine driver in New Mexico, while also caring for a frail unstable Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), housed in an abandoned plant across the border. When he crosses paths with a young Latina girl called Laura (Dafne Keen) who has similar powers to his, he and Charles attempt to transport her to North Dakota and the Canadian border before enforcers of a sinister government program recapture her.
This story is remarkably simple and straightforward for a superhero film. It’s mostly just a road trip to get someone across the border to safety. And yes, that theme does feel especially relevant in the modern political climate. Because there isn’t a lot of grand exposition and plot, the film’s allowed to focus a lot more on mood, which it does superbly. This is by far the best shot X-Men movie. There’s a lot of driving through the desert, evoking westerns like Hell or High Water, Unforgiven or even Shane which features in this movie in a clearly metaphorical role. Although there are a number of heavy action sequences, the movie has quiet reflective moments as well. These not only balance out the bloodier moments, but give the audience a chance to bask in the ambience of a scene or Logans’ state of mind. And often they’re framed in a very picturesque way. There’s a rawness to everything, not just brought on by the violence, but the bleak presentation of the characters’ circumstances and the world itself. This is actually kind of ironic considering X-Men in 2000 aspired to the campy comic elements with no shame and this film (supposedly in the same continuity) is rejecting them almost entirely.
I find it slightly funny that Logan’s characterized as an old man throughout this movie, but Hugh Jackman still looks not much more than middle-aged. That incongruity aside, this is Jackman’s finest hour as the character. You feel what he’s been through, the crumbling of his world and the reason he’s constantly bitter. Never before has there been so much pain on his shoulders, never has he been so broken, and it all comes through in Jackmans’ nuanced performance. It’s only fitting that the X-Men franchise’s most character-driven movie by far, sees that character at his best. And also at his worst, seeing as he’s more vulnerable and weakened than ever, unable to heal himself like he used to. The perfect foil for him is Laura, and newcomer Dafne Keen is amazing. Almost solely through her physical performance she creates a figure with a disturbing past, but someone who clearly cares a lot about her quest, the sliver of hope it poses, and who is both awesome in combat and reticently engaging. Her relationship with Logan which is arguably the films’ backbone, is close but distant. In some ways its development is cliché, but both characters invest you enough on their own, that you welcome it. And what can I say for Patrick Stewart? He simply is one of the best, and rounds out this trio brilliantly. It’s fascinating to see how Charles’ relationship with Logan has evolved, and Stewart performs multiple scenes so skilfully and with such emotion it’s almost heartbreaking. He’s as sweet as the character’s always been, but the dementia of his mental powers which endanger himself and others, adds a new layer of sympathy. The supporting cast consists of a despicable Boyd Holbrook, a surprisingly versatile Stephen Merchant, and an enigmatic Richard E. Grant, all of whom are great.
There are problematic elements to Logan though. At the end of the second act a new adversary is introduced who works okay but feels a little too silly in contrast to the grave tone. There’s also the fact that X-Men comics exist in this universe, which though it serves a point, also feels tonally out of place. The comic relief in general is often the same way, with jokes that seem written to emanate Deadpool. That’s one of the downsides of the R-rating, as this film goes out of its way to exploit that in the early scenes. There are a number of unnecessary F-bombs for instance and a laughably out-of-nowhere bit of nudity. But even though I think a Wolverine movie could work without an R-rating, there’s no denying it made the action sequences the best he’s ever had. The excessive bloodiness isn’t what makes them work as much as the pacing. In concordance with the theme of ageing, Logan’s fighting is like a man past his prime and it makes each sequence more tense and heavy. The impact of each blow feels that much more brutal and makes the danger to our heroes all the more threatening.
This was Hugh Jackman’s denouement, and I’m confident that if he were to reappear after this, it would cheapen the character. It may be early to call Logan one of the best superhero films, not least because it subverts many of the tenets of that genre, but this feels at least a partially justifiable assessment. The overarching themes are unequivocally mature and I appreciate that this film isn’t afraid to be open-ended. Not everything is answered nor should it be. Again it reminds me a lot of Children of Men in this, how it’s reaching for something beyond the expectations of the comic book movie. What I can say for certain now is its bolder; with powerful performances, a simple yet affecting story and character drama which exceeds expectations. And it will make you cry.
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